The invention relates to a process for producing antiadhesive coatings on a webform material and to the use of the antiadhesive coatings, especially in connection with adhesive tapes.
Layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions are used on web-form materials, such as on adhesive tapes or release materials, for example, in order to achieve sufficient reversibility of an adhesive bond. In the case of adhesive tapes this is often particularly problematic, since in general specific release forces and residueless detachment between adhesive composition and backing reverse face or release material are required. Moreover, the intention in many cases is that no transfer material, especially no transfer of silicone, is to take place to the adhesive composition from the coating which is antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions.
To produce layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions on web-form materials, especially to reverse faces of adhesive tapes, a variety of processes are used.
Layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions may be applied, for example, in the form of a wet-chemical coating from solution (solvent or water), in which case subsequent drying and/or crosslinking is needed. This crosslinking may be carried out, for example, thermally or by radiation.
The disadvantages of the conventional processes for applying layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions are in particular that in many cases solvents are used.
The use of wet-chemically applied layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions generally entails high costs, since the furnishing of the wet-form material with a primer constitutes a complete additional coating operation. Moreover, certain layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions must be classified as objectionable from environmental and health standpoints, especially since solvents are needed for the wet-chemical coating.
A further problem exists when a certain release force, for example that of an adhesive film to its own reverse face, can be economically achieved with none of the known processes.
Furthermore, the layers thus produced which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions generally exhibit a transfer of material to the adhesive composition which comes into contact with them.
Low pressure plasma polymerization is not employed for producing, on web-form materials, layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions, despite the fact that a large number of different applications already exist for similar low pressure plasma processes. Examples are the coating of plastic bottles with permeation barrier layers, and the scratchproof coating of plastics surfaces.
It is an object of the invention to prevent or at least lessen the disadvantages of the prior art. A particular object of the invention is to achieve a marked reduction in adhesion of adhesive compositions to the surface of web-form materials intended for producing adhesive tapes or release materials, subject to the provisos that the reduction in adhesion must possess long-term stability and must not involve the use of any solvents and that the process and the layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions are unobjectionable from health and environmental standpoints and do not involve any transfer of material to the adhesive compositions which come into contact with them.
This object is achieved by a process for producing antiadhesive layers on a web-form material, as characterized more closely in the main claim. The subclaims relate to particularly advantageous embodiments of the process. The invention further embraces the use of the antiadhesive layers.
The invention accordingly provides a process for producing antiadhesive layers on a web-form material which are applied to the web-form material by means of low pressure plasma polymerization by guiding the web-form material continuously through a plasma zone containing a low pressure plasma.
Important process parameters which control the process of the deposition of the layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions and thus control the layer properties are the compounds used to form the low pressure plasma, and the carrier or the additional gases, the gas pressure or gas mixture pressure during the coating operation, and the electrical discharge which is used for plasma excitation. Varying the process parameters serves to optimize the layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions and to adapt them to the technical boundary conditions in the particular application case.
Coating is preferably carried out under a gas pressure or gas mixture pressure of from 10xe2x88x923 to 20 mbar.
It is advantageous if the unwind station of the web-form material, the winding station and the plasma zone are located in a vacuum chamber (batch operation) or if the web-form material is guided through the plasma zone by means of vacuum locks, which is referred to as air-to-air operation.
The low pressure plasma is formed using in particular organosilicon compounds such as hexamethyl disiloxane, hexamethyldisilazane and/or tetraethyl orthosilicate, or perfluorinated hydrocarbons such as perfluorononane and/or perfluoropropene, or mixtures such as hexamethyldisiloxane with trifluoromethane and/or tetrafluoromethane.
Carrier gases or additional gases used are preferably unpolymerizable gases such as noble gases and/or nitrogen. Additional gases and carrier gases are used in order to control layer deposition and in particular to increase the uniformity and stability of the plasma.
Web-form materials used are preferably polymer films, foam backings, woven backings, nonwoven backings, or paper backings.
The use of the layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions, produced by means of the process of the invention, in connection with single-sided adhesive tapes for reducing adhesion, as a coating to the reverse face of the backing, has proven particularly advantageous. These layers are likewise particularly suitable on the release material which is used to line the adhesive coating.
Various forms of electrical discharge may be utilized for plasma excitation. It is preferably done by means of kHz, MHz or GHz discharge. Critical to the selection of the form of excitation are the technical boundary conditionsxe2x80x94for example, necessary coating speed or gas mixture pressure during coating.
A particular advantage of the process in comparison to the prior art is the ability to control the process of layer deposition and thus the antiadhesive activity of the coatings with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions by varying the process parameters. This permits optimum adaptation of the layer properties to the particular application case.
A further advantage of the novel process is the avoidance of solvents and the possibility of avoiding the use of substances objectionable from a health or environmental standpoint.
An essential advantage of the layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions, produced by the process, is the fact that there is no transfer of material from the layer which is antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions to the adhesive composition which is brought into contact with it.
Moreover, the thermal load on the web-form materials is low owing to the low pressure plasma used, so that temperature-sensitive materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene or foams, in particular, may be coated without damage.
A further advantage is the high long-term stability of the novel layers which are antiadhesive with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions, since owing to the novel process these layers are highly crosslinked and thermally stable.
The antiadhesive coatings formed by means of plasma polymerization, especially for adhesive tape reverse faces and release materials, are accordingly produced without solvent, and exhibit no transfer of material with respect to pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions.
The intention of the text below is to depict particularly advantageous embodiments of the process of the invention without wishing unnecessarily to restrict this process.